title: Prognosis analysis of sarcomatous intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from a review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sarcomatous intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare histological variant of ICC. The prognosis of sarcomatous ICC is poorly understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the prognosis of sarcomatous ICC by reviewing the previous reports and our own case.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 15 cases of sarcomatous ICC have been reported in the English-language literature so far. Median survival time of patients with sarcomatous ICC with and without surgery was 11 and 3 months, respectively. Survival rate of patients operated on for sarcomatous ICC was similar to that of patients with ordinary ICC without surgery in the early postoperative period. In the long-term view, however, the prognosis for the patients with sarcomatous ICC receiving surgery was better than that for the patients with ordinary ICC without surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the prognosis for the patients with sarcomatous ICC was poor even after curative resection, surgery would be justified as the primary treatment for sarcomatous ICC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita, 010-8543, Japan, gowata@med.akita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchinami
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nanjo
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate